Not Alone

Items on the Federal Communications Commission's July 2020 agenda:

1. Rules to establish 988 as a national three-digit number to access suicide prevention and mental health services.
2. An Order that would provide carriers a safe harbor from liability for the unintended or inadvertent blocking of calls so long as such action is based upon reasonable analytics indicating that such calls were unwanted and therefore should be blocked. The FCC will formalize the blocking of bad actor telephone companies that act as a gateway for illegal and unwanted calls. The commission will also be seeking comment on whether to obligate originating and intermediate providers to better police their networks against illegal calls, as well as to require terminating providers to provide information about blocked calls to consumers at no charge.
3. A Declaratory Ruling that would find that the FCC’s November 2019 Order prohibits the use of federal subsidy funds to purchase, rent, lease, or otherwise obtain or maintain any covered communications equipment or services from certain companies.  A Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking will seek comment on proposals to implement other sections of the Secure Networks Act. 
4. A Report and Order to improve vertical location accuracy for wireless 911 calls.
5. Proposals to remove outdated requirements, reflect the current marketplace, and help ensure that emergency workers receive prioritized connectivity to landline and wireless networks, as well as priority for service restoration, if needed. 
6. Modernization of leased access rules.
7.  A Second Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would begin implementing certain aspects of the Broadband DATA Act by adopting specific coverage reporting and disclosure requirements for fixed and mobile broadband providers, filing and certification requirements, and measures for determining the accuracy of broadband availability data.  It would also develop a process for engaging directly with state, local, and Tribal governments, along with consumers and other entities, to ensure that the maps are as accurate as possible.